Hour 3

Getting rid of duplicates in iTunes, should 3D printed guns be considered a threat to public safety? Getting old programs off of a DVR, what modem to buy, how to get the most out of cruise ship Wi-Fi, restoring an address book in Outlook, what router is the fastest, and Chris Marquardt joins us to talk about shutter sounds from digital cameras.

Guests

Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Charles has a thousand MP3s and he has multiple copies of all the songs, which is annoying. Leo says that in the iTunes settings, he can tell it to manage his music. But since he already has an iTunes folder with duplicates, Leo recommends taking it off his hard drive (to a thumb drive) and then restart iTunes and select the option to let iTunes manage his music. Then he won't have to deal with duplicates. iTunes is a terrible program for syncing music, especially in Windows. Leo recommends DoubleTwist, or Media Monkey for Windows. It does the same thing.

Louis is concerned about the so-called threat of 3D printed guns. Leo says that the worry about 3D printed guns is overblown. First, the plastic guns have to have one metal part by law. Second, it's always been legal to make your own gun, and enthusiasts have been milling guns for years. It's very expensive to do it, it's cheaper to just buy one. Hobbyists will find it interesting, but they aren't going to start the apocalypse. So it's much ado about nothing, really. It won't change the fundamental issues of gun ownership. Nor will it create a wave of people printing guns in their basement. It's really more a curiosity. Leo says that the press loves to pick up stories like this because technology causes people to panic when they aren't familiar with new things.

Eric cut the cable and wants to know if he can get programs off his old TiVo. Leo says in the first generation TiVos, he would be able to. But copy protection has locked down and encrypted that data. TIVO to Go was an option, but it was a very poor solution. There is one way to do it still, and that's the analog hole. Eric can connect his TIVO using the analog component jacks (red, white and yellow), but it will be standard definition.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Ron has an old Motorola Moto Z and the battery is dying. He wants to upgrade to a new phone. What should he get? Leo says that the Motos are great and they've worked up to the G6. Leo says that line is fantastic for a budget line of phones. The camera is pretty darn good. The screen isn't the greatest, but it's good. Leo suggests the Moto G. And T-Mobile's Senior plan is pretty good at $70 for unlimited talk, text, and data for two lines.

Ron is going on a cruise soon and he wants to know if the Wi-Fi on the ship will be usable. Leo says it's always slow because satellite connections are slow, with a lot of latency, and on top of that, he'll be sharing bandwidth with 4,000 people. The best he can do is get up in the middle of the night and use it. The worst part is, it's also very expensive. But when he's in port, he'll have access to mobile data.

Marty wants to know if the Epson EcoTank printer is good enough for printing photos. Leo says it's not really designed for that. It's a business color printer. Epson makes excellent photo printers, but the EcoTank isn't designed for that.

Dean wants to buy his own router. TheWirecutter likes the Netgear CM500. Leo likes the ARRIS Surfboard. The key is to get a DOCSIS III modem. He'll also want to check with his ISP to see what modems they support. Most support these two main brands. But he'll also want to have a separate router and modem. Routers will change more often than the modem will because they wear out. He'll also want a router that will be updated regularly and automatically to keep him secure online.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Maurice's Outlook contacts disappeared and now he can't send group emails. Leo says there could be a few things happening. Outlook's autocomplete is constantly looking at the contacts, and if it's missing, then it can't read them. If it's intact, then it should come out, including his group list. Carbonite will backup his data, but if the link between his contacts and the group list is broken, then that could be part of the problem. He should try and verify that his address book is there. If the address book is gone, then there is the problem. If the list is there, then he can back it up.

Leo also says that the autocomplete for lists may have been disabled. He can check this out by going to File > Options > Mail, and under "send messages" he should see if "use autocomplete to suggest names when typing" is checked. If it's not, then he should check it. It may have been disabled somehow. Here's a tech note from support.microsoft.com that may help.

This problem can become a tricky one quickly, and that is why Leo generally recommends an iPad or Chromebook instead of Windows.

Kyle wants to know what router is the fastest for the money. Leo says that Netgear Orbi is an excellent mesh system for someone looking for maximum speed. It has a 4GB ethernet as well. And for under 2000 feet, one is enough. Asus also has a good router for the hardcore hobbyist. Leo says what he really will want is an intelligent routing system, so it will delegate speed to the things he needs the most at that time. Since Kyle only needs to cover about 1500 square feet, Leo recommends just getting the Netgear Orbi base station for $129.

This Week in Tech News

Fans are upset that actor John Krazinski has sold his YouTube web series Some Good News to CBS after a furious bidding war. Why are they upset? Because Krazinski isn't going to be continuing as the anchor of the popular youtube series. Many fans are now complaining that Krazinski has sold out. But Leo says that Krazinski is a TV and Movie star, and director, with a lot of other commitments on the horizon. But will SGN thrive without him? Leo isn't so sure.

Moving towards a more autonomous computer-oriented news curation, Microsoft this week laid off all their editors and writers for Microsoft News. Leo says that the news site isn't going away, Microsoft is just going to rely on an artificial intelligence algorithm to curate the stories it posts. Leo also adds that both Apple and Google have gone the other way, believing that human curation increases engagement. Leo also says that Facebook is also relying on an algorithm, and its news page is just terrible.

Leo says that while algorithms are good for optimizing your end result, they can get more extreme and just plain weird.

After a rain delay on Wednesday, SpaceX is poised to launch its first manned mission to the International Space Station with DM-2. Leo says that while critics say that money shouldn't be "wasted" on space exploration, Leo disagrees, saying that a tiny fraction of the federal budget goes to NASA and the Commercial Space Program, and the benefits of what we learn far outweigh what we spend, or the risk. And it always has.

Twitter announced this week that their employees can work from home and don't ever have to come back to the office. Leo says that this could be a new emerging trend, where companies allow ther employees to telecommute. The result could also be that people will be able to live where they can afford, rather than living in expensive areas. But it may also mean that companies will pay their employees less if they live in cheaper areas. But companies are also battling for the best talent, by offering amenities. Working from home will be part of that.